COMMENTARY
LUBBOCK, Texas — Yup, you read that headline correctly. Just one final flat-as-forever, parched-throat jab before leaving the West Texas city where the Mountaineers’ season turned serious.
Merely beating Texas Tech would’ve been a neat feather. Manhandling the Red Raiders 48-17 produced a shower of national bouquets and elevated West Virginia into conversations of contendership.
To be certain, most of this chatter is premature. (Exactly 20 years ago, Tarantino’s original “From Dusk Till Dawn” gave us a suspenseful half-movie before thoughtlessly devolving into a vampire chop shop. West Virginia’s promising season also is about to reach its tell-tale midpoint, and there’s more to the analogy, with Dana Holgorsen’s contract leverage currently coming back from the dead.)
The Mountaineers had barely showered at Jones AT&T Stadium before the ESPN guys started pointing toward Dec. 3 as a winner-take-all matchup when Baylor comes to Morgantown. Unbeaten teams always attract bandwagoners, ones who overlook the fact that West Virginia’s opponents are just 9-9 against other FBS teams, while Baylor’s foes stand 5-16.
“You gotta be careful not to get too big-headed just because we’re 5-0,” Rushel Shell said after 104 yards rushing and two touchdowns Saturday.
Processing this avalanche of praise might be the trickiest task for players, though Mountaineers fans greeted the new No. 12 AP ranking with caution. At least that’s what I ascertained from my entirely unscientific Twitter polling overnight:
Five of six voters don’t give West Virginia a chance of winning the conference. Only a quarter of responders expect even a 5-2 record the rest of the way.
Fans still sting from 2012’s meltdown that took a 5-0 team ranked No. 5 and turned it into a 7-6 mess. Current players recall the more recent history of last season’s 3-0 start evaporating into a four-loss October.
Still, it’s OK to be simultaneously cautious and enthusiastic, which is why a sell-out crowd awaits unranked, twice-beaten TCU this week. The home outfit is a 4.5-point favorite, though if not for slightly different trajectories on two kicks, the Frogs’ and Mountaineers’ positions could be in identical lanes. TCU’s chip-shot field goal was blocked by Arkansas, leading to an overtime loss. K-State’s chance to beat West Virginia drifted wide left.
Only once in five victories has West Virginia looked convincing, though players seem increasingly convinced they have as much a right as any team to the Big 12 trophy. Catching TCU, Oklahoma and Baylor at home simplifies the path, one that looks more plausible after leaving Texas Tech in the dust.